The worst hit areas were the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Guizhou, the Guangxi autonomous region and Chongqing municipality.

In Yujiang county in Jiangxi, flash floods cut a 30m section out of a main road on Sunday morning, state telelvision reported.

Bridges swept away

Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from the southwest Fujian province, said local residents of one village had to create their own methods of survival after floods swept away a bridge connecting the village to the main road.

"For four days, [villagers] say they've had no food and no access to the outside world," he said.

"Emergency workers did come down here [and] constructed a rope pulley system, which took some bags of rice across. But [villagers] are having to respond by themselves creating their own improvised bridge.

"So even though the rain is easing off in this region, the impact and the effects of these floods will continue for some time across several regions and provinces across southern China."

The government has estimated damage caused so far to be around $1.5bn.

Nine local officials in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have been punished for dereliction of duty in flood work, including a reservoir monitor caught playing poker, the state-run China Daily said.